Should the details furnished by a person while filling the application form for examination be disclosed?

12 Jul, 2013

Background

The appellant filed an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act with the High Court of Kerala seeking the details furnished by his wife while filling the application form for the examination. The Public Information Officer (PIO) denied the information on the ground that it was personal information having no relationship to any public activity or interest.

Proceedings

During the hearing the before Central Information Commission (CIC), the appellant pointed out that the purity of the candidates appearing in such an examination is very important and that he suspected that his wife had suppressed many material facts about the criminal and civil matters pending against her while filling out the application form.

View of CIC

The Commission observed that the information sought is personal in nature. The personal details furnished by a candidate while filling out the form for any examination were not meant to be disclosed to the general public. The CIC noted that these details were primarily required for the authority conducting the examination and if once found successful and fit for recommendation for the job for which the examination is held, the details provided by the candidate concerned would assume a public character because based on those details she would be finally appointed to the job in the public authority until then the information is purely personal. The CIC held that such information can be disclosed only if there is a larger public interest to be served. The Commission ruled that the case is between the appellant and his wife, having some dispute between them and the information has not been sought for any public purpose but for purely personal reasons.